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ADDRESS 



W. S. HERNDON, 



OK TYLER, 



BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES 



UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AT AUSTIN, 



JUNE 14TH, 1887. 



PRESS OF CITY PRINTING COMPANY, AUSTIN. 






ADDRESS 



W. S. HERNDON, 

Of Tyler, Before the Literary Societies of the University of Texas, at Austin,. 

June Ik, 1SS7. 



There must be a thought before a thing— the abstract, then the concrete. 

There are two central ideas that prevade all known intelli- 
gence : God and His attributes, and man as a moral and 
intellectual citizen of earth. In the consideration of these 
ideas, man finds the measure and limit of his highest ability 
and an opportunity to indulge his fancy. While the one com- 
mands our wonder and admiration, and kindles in our hearts 
the most sublime devotion, the other inspires with the desire 
to know ourselves, to discover the hidden secrets of nature; 
to enjoy the beatitudes of this life and to triumph over every 
foe that impedes our progress toward the goal of man's highest 
destiny. AVe may pursue with pleasure study of the former, 
feeding our faith and hopes of ultimate good, until we enjoy 
the full fruition of His ineffable love vouchsafed toman; or we 
may consider the latter, in his individual and social life, as a 
moral and sentient being, and follow him to the earthly goal 
created by himself, and there part with him as a friend and 
fellow citizen under the belief that he will enter upon a grander 
life beyond. 

As centers of thought, one is infinite, the other finite. Around 
these all other ideas revolve and gravitate to them, as the end 
and limit of their creation. The finite is a part, the infinite 
the whole. The finite is tending towards the infinite, and finds 
supreme enjoyment in its never ending progress towards the 
grand center of all things that exist. Our chief aim in this 
life is to comprehend the one and to love and obey the other ,.. 
which offers the most ample opportunity for useful lives. The; 



ADDRESS OF vV. S. HERNDON 



universe is God's great workshop, at once complete and stu- 
pendous, but withal perfect, harmonious and wonderful as 
Himself. The earth is the vast workshop created for man. 
Here is the threatre of his toil — the field in which his efforts 
find their true measure and reward. Here he must think, plan 
and execute. The forces of nature must be ascertained, sub- 
dued, and the results appropriated to secure that success to 
wdiich he is entitled. As an individual, he is weaker and less 
able in the beginning of life to combat repellent forces than 
the beast of the field ; yet he possesses the power of thought 
and self-direction, which enables him to choose the best means 
of attacking and overcoming the forces that resist his pro- 
gressive march in the, scale of being. He possesses the power 
of creative genius, and a conversatism which enables him to 
make and reserve the results of his acquisitions, to provide a 
reserve fund of knowledge and wisdom ; and by these means, 
adding to his power a progressive force which tends to elevate 
the race to higher planes of greatness. Here is to be found 
one of the distinctive differences between man and all other 
beings. He not only possesses the power of creative genius, 
but inherits the conscious power of manhood which dominates 
his life" as an inward force, and impels him onward in the 
progress of his being. He finds within himself the instinct 
of power — the consciousness of infinity, a relation between 
the great centers of thought, a responsive current between 
them, which makes him scorn nature's laws or blessings as an 
ultimate evil or good. The true man feels the inspiration of a 
higher life within ; and that he possesses the power of self- 
perpetuation on earth and the capacity to subdue its forces 
and to appropriate them to his own use. In his relation to 
earth and himself, he has ever been, and will, no doubt, con- 
tinue to be, the most interesting and most difficult problem 
for solution. He is the chief center of interest, the sum total 
in every epic, in every great enterprise that seeks success, in 
the arts, sciences and philosophy, and in all the creations of 
genius. If left out, the plot is marred, and though otherwise 
a masterpiece, it is doomed to failure. The. true and perfect 
man, in possession of allhis faculties,, conscious of his indi- 
viduality and manhood, reflecting in himself the image of 

6 



Copy. 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 



God linked in the chain of creation to the great first cause, 
is an exalted being. His mind may become a kingdom filled 
with wealth and power. Such a mind, well stored and bal- 
anced, occupies a place far above the riches and princely 
powers of the rulers of nations. Small, indeed, are the mag- 
nates of the earth, whose greatness is founded on brute 
force and material wealth, when compared with the 
fame of genius and conscious manhood. The one lives in a 
narrow circle, is loved or hated by turns, as success or defeat 
turns the balance and passes away with the breath which 
lifted to temporary power ; while the other creates a force 
which, once set in motion, runs with and becomes a part of 
the destiny of the race. We have a mission ©n earth which 
demands of us, at the beginning of an active life, decisive 
action. We must choose for ourselves a vocation which must 
be pursued in order to attain success. There is a special work 
for each and enough for all ; and we are endowed with the 
ability to discern that work and the power to perform it. Hence, 
we should not hesitate to select as early as possible a life 
work. We find ourselves opposed at every step in our march 
to the highest good, and this opposition ir? the resistance pre- 
sented by the laws of matter and mind, being so created and 
devised that they are hidden from man. It requires effort to 
unlock the doors of nature and become master of her secrets. 
But the fact that God gave the earth and its fullness to man 
as an inheritance, carries with it the idea of his capacity to 
understand and possess whataver it has for his good. As a 
citizen of earth, it is our duty to subdue and have domain 
over it as an earthly possession ; and in the exercise of this 
prerogative, to establish such relations with each other and 
the devine Author of our being as shall secure the recognition 
of a successful life here, and that spiritual reward so earnestly 
promised. We, therefore, find it a law of nature, and a duty 
as an inhabitant of earth, to struggle earnestly for the devel- 
opment of our faculties and powers, that we may exert them 
intelligently in elevating ourselves and our fellows to the pos- 
session of the greatest blessings. We think it a correct maxim 
that the success of individuals, as well as nations, depends 
directly upon the accumulation of correct knowledge and its 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 



wise use. If this be true, we find the pursuit of these the* 
strongest incentive to continuous effort. 

Under the conditions of life, toil is the price of success ; an& 
to become the master of the elements and forces of earth, we 
must obtain a correct knowledge of the vast workshop in which 
we are laboring, and learn to deal with all the possessions with 
which we are blessed as a true, accountable and responsible 
citizen of earth. It ma} T be held as true, that every person in 
the line of duty will be limited by his power and ability to 
act, and, therefore, his usefulness and success will be measured 
by his capacity. The ability of an army is not measured by 
its numbers and physical power, but by the intelligence of the 
soldiers and the wisdom with Avhich they are directed. You 
can rise just as high in the scale of being as the power derived 
from the reserved force of your knowledge and wisdom will 
allow. They may be acquired by effort, and you ,are sole 
masters of the means of success. You will, therefore, be able 
to fix a limit to your own usefulness, just as you can see a 
larger area by ascending a mountain. Every step toward the 
top gives you a more extended view. While this is true of 
individuals, it is not less true of nations. The citizen is 
stronger and capable of exerting a force in direct proportion 
to the amount of correct knowledge and wisdom he may pos- 
sess ; and the power of a nation for protection, defense, ex- 
pansion and progress, is limited by the amount of correct 
knowledge and wisdom in the possession of its population. 
No amount of war material in the hands of an ignorant and 
besotted people wall make them strong; while a small country, 
with a few people with virtue, knowledge and wisdom, may 
prove invincible. This doctrine is limited, however, to cor- 
rect knowledge and its proper application. Correct knowledge 
alone is not enough. Like dynamite or electricity, it requires 
a force to put it in motion. What the lighted fuse is to dyna- 
mite and the electric button is to electricity, wisdom is to 
knowledge. Wisdom, therefore, is higher that knowledge. It 
is the ability to rightly use knowledge. The one is the means, 
and the other is the agent that directs these means. The- 
former is the dormant force — the sleeping giant ; the latter 
awakes that forte into activity. Hence, you must do more 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 



than acquire knowledge : you must p ossess"the power to make 
it your servant. It is often said there is a u learned fool," 
" an educated dunce," u a walking library." All this means 
that some one has accumulated ]a large amount"of knowledge 
—correct knowledge, it may be — but he is unable to use it. In 
his hands it possesses no power. It is a dormant force — this 
toil without purpose, the acquisition of much wealth without 
the sense to utilize it. The preamble to one of your societies 
explains in part this idea. In referring to your aims it says : 
" To realize the advantages to be derived* ; from the discipline 
of literary society, and to acquire a skillful use^of tongue and 
pen ;" in other words, you propose to become able to use 
knowledge wisely in the struggle for success in life. 

First, the abstract* then the concrete. The idea must first 
exist in the mind, then follows the development. The mind 
takes jurisdiction, gives shape, works*out]the pattern, all the 
parts are seen, and a conclusion must be reached before the 
thing is produced. The conception* is originated, then re- 
solved into parts, reconstructed as a whole, and pronounced 
fit for material, construction or application. This mental 
fabric may be beautiful or deformed, perfect Jor^defective. As 
created in the mind, so it will appear when wrought out. Few 
men are able to trace the processes of their own thought, yet 
this attainment is necessary to become trained thinkers. It is 
claimed that not more than ten students in every million of 
Dur population, who pass through a polished university course 
Df training, fit themselves for work]inthis field. And of those 
«'ho are thus fitted to undertake this delicate work, not over 
six hundred annually, out of sixty million of people, attempt 
it. The honors awaiting success, where so few^can be enlisted 
to toil, are very great. The student who fits himself for and 
seeks this lofty station is worthy of the highest consideration 
by the State. Those who have done the thinking for man- 
kind are few indeed. They are the moral and intellectual 
props of our race in its efforts to perpetuate its_]]existence and 
make possible its greatness. We point to them as the repre- 
sentatives of intelligence and manhood in their day and nation. 
Ihe major part of mankind possesses neitherjthe opportunity 
lor desire to rise very high in life. The few who possess 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 



Such an ambition, work out nearly all the great plans for the 
amelioration of our< race. The. university is the patron of the: 
student who seeksto be an original thinker. It offers the best 
help to lift him in his efforts to rise above the restraints and 
opposing forces that tend to fetter his steps. It is true that a. 
Creation of genius may and sometimes does emanate from un- 
trained minds, yet it constitutes the exception to the general 
rule. The progressive people of this age could not afford to> 
depend upon untrained thinkers to pilot the advancing column 
of our grand army of civilization. The universities of this 
country are not of doubtful value. They are unknown quan- 
tities, but they are necessities to an intelligent and progressive- 
people, and must be permanent and receive a liberal support. 
They fit and train the advancing force, the pioneers and path- 
finders, who constitute the intelligent guides tojour great pop- 
ulation. A force of young men must be trained and equipped,, 
and sent out of this university annually, that will aid largely 
in moulding and controlling the destiny of the people of this 
great State. 

Which one of you has laid out a plan of life work for your 
own and your country's good ? Who of you have caught the 
spark of imperishable ambition and will fan it into a blaze, to 
light the pathway of the generations to come ? Some one of your 
number may have already traced the outlines of a creation of 
genius, which, when wrought out, will astonish and bless 
mankind. Moses was allowed to view lands full of wealth, 
a country teeming with- all that could minister to the comfort 
and happiness of man in that day, but he was denied the priv- 
ilege of actually possessing that goodly land. Yet Moses had 
originated a campaign, had organized a force, and put it in 
motion. His plans were executed by other hands, and the- 
land of Caanan was changed to the land of Judea, and became 
the theatre of some of the most remarkable events that live in 
history. You may originate a thought that you will never be 
able to habilitate and fully materialize, but your successors 
will do so, and with it your name will be coupled for all time. 
The possession of such creative genius, and the ability to- 
comprehend self, our relation to others, to our Creator, and 
to be master of the forces about us, is to hold the highest 



ADDRESS OF W. S, HERNDON. 



earthly position. The possessor is every inch a king; he is 
truly a monarch of all he surveys. The princes of this world T 
who command armies and navies, and .wear crowns of gold 
and diamonds, without this power may aspire in vain, but can 
never hold such lofty place. The one is destined to rule but 
an hour, and, with the loss of power, he ceases to be, while 
the other has exerted a power, embodied and put in motion a 
new force that starts upon a career that may expand and in- 
crease for the good of man until the end of time. The love of 
victory is strongly developed in our race. To be master of 
mind and matter offers to our ambition the highest incentive 
to effort. God rules the spiritual and created things of the 
Universe by wisdom ; and we see conservatism, perfection 
and harmony reign everywhere. While man rules mind and 
matter by wisdom and force, his is a mixed code. This springs 
from want of a perfect knowledge of that which is. We are 
on the progressive march from the lower to the higher positions 
in life. We view the lofty heights in the distance which must 
be ascended and possessed if we succeed. Do you aspire to 
possess the power of creative genius, the ability to embody a 
force which, when fully wrought out, shall elevate and in- 
crease the happiness of mankind ? Do you realize that in this 
field the largest reward is promised? Here you may toil 
with the strongest assurance of ultimate success. All Divine 
laws are truth. The fixed laws that regulate matter are truth ; 
and all human laws ought to be founded on truth. The com- 
position of all forces and laws of earth, when concentrated 
and focalized, are represented in man, and produce their legit- 
imate effect through him. He is the true type, the represen- 
tative of all that is on the globe, the common center from 
which all ideas radiate, and about him they revolve and find 
their limit and purpose. It is my purpose to make you sensi- 
ble, of your high prerogative as a citizen of earth, of the true 
value of the powers with which you are endowed, and your 
vast ability to know and appropriate the grandest results of 
your being. To impress upon you the fact that as individuals 
without estates, without prestige and family record, without 
encouragement from the State, and without physical prowess, 
you may, through your acquisition of knowledge and wisdom, 



8 ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNCON. 

hold a place and exercise an influence that will command the 
respect and admiration of all mankind. I would have you to 
he original thinkers, possessing the powers of creative genius, 
and to stand out as the grandest men in the age of history. 
Allow me to illustrate my theme by passing in review before 
you some of the mighty results that have been the outgrowth 
of original thought. The University of Texas, as we find it 
to-day, is not up to its full original conception, but represents 
it in part only. The thought was conceived more than forty 
years ago. It was, no doubt, nursed in the mind tor years. 
The splendid structure was vivid! y seen, filled with ambi- 
tious students to the manner born, directed by professors of 
learning and worth, patronized by a great people, and fostered 
and supported by the government. The mind that gave birth 
to this thought has long since passed away, but he embodied 
a force and started it upon its grand mission. Other kindred 
spirits grasped the idea with willing hands, put it into our 
first Constitution, and thus it has been expanded and increased 
until to-day you find it the first institution of the land. Who 
will undertake to sa} r what this institution may not be, and 
what it may not accomplish for the State and nation ? It is 
in its infancy now, but under proper direction and support, it 
will stand out, in the future, as one of the noblest monuments 
t:> the genius of man. The value of thought that gave life and 
expansion to this institution will be a fruitful problem for solu- 
tion among the generations that are yet to live upon the plains 
of this great State. If } r ou trace the lines of history back to 
periods and countries where you find ruined cities, deserted 
temples, fallen walls, and leaning pyramids, you will find the 
voice of learning as silent as their desolation. There are but 
few objects, the creation of genius, which mark the period 
of thousands of years. These represent the highest type of 
learning in the age that gave them birth, and were generally 
erected by slaves, under the decrees of the reigning prince, to 
perpetuate his name and power. The masses of the people 
did not share in the respect and admiration of these monu- 
ments to power. They pointed to them as they did to their 
masters, who had oppressed and riveted upon their limbs 
-chains of slavery. In those ages and among those people 



ADDRESS OF W. %. HERNDON. 9 

ivhere the greatest piles were raised, serving no purpose, ex- 
cept to proclaim the power and name of a king, they repre- 
sented a grinding power which has dominated over the vast 
majority of the human race in every age of the world. 
Men now point to them with feelings of awe and pride, as the 
work of a great people in a grander age than ours. I confess 
they produce in my mind no charms and no feelings of love 
or admiration. I view them as mile-stones standing along 
the highways of past ages, marking the distance from the last 
exaction of power over a people struggling for a higher and 
better civilization. The travelers of to-day sail around the 
globe and pause before the relics of the past, and write books 
filled with fairy descriptions of the genius, learning and gran- 
deur of those effete and buried nations. 

I would lather spend one year of travel among a live, free, 
liberty-loving, literary, God-fearing people, who are mastering 
the forces and engaged in ameliorating and elevating the con- 
dition of men, than a whole lifetime among the downtrodden 
and ignorant people of the East, who have discarded knowl- 
edge, eschewed wisdom, and expelled God from all their plans 
of life. The real mission of man had not dawned upon the 
race when such structures were possible. The age in which 
we live will never give birth to the idea of brute force, which 
was the real author of many of the structures of the past 
ages. We have accomplished more lor the good of man in the 
last two hundred years than the whole race had done prior to 
that time. We pause to-day before the history of the people 
and nations long since dead, and wonder how they lived so 
long and to such little purpose. 

Few, indeed, are the creations of genius that stand out 
amidst the desolation of that long and dreary period. The 
higher culture of the mind was not thought of as a force in 
working out the destiny of man. On the contrary, physical 
prowess and brute force were resorted to as of the highest 
value. The few spots along the ages where the mind received 
some culture and training became the lighthouses of the world, 
to pilot the sluggish colums of ignorant humanity in its onward 
march. The Jews were hardly an exception, for while they 
-did much, and perhaps more than any other people in that 



I O ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 

dark period, £till they could not claim to be sole authors of 
the purpose and plan which effected the result. For instance, 
the Temple of Solomon, erected in the capital of Judea, which 
was the masterpiece of architecture yet produced by meny 
cannot be justly claimed by the Jews. It once existed as an 
original thought. It was the creation of Omnipotence. The 
pattern wrought out of that thought was delivered to man by 
God, and when this creation was materialized in wood, metal 
and stone, it was worthy of the great Author. You are able 
to contrast the superiority of knowledge over ignorance, ( f 
wisdom over brute force, and to form some estimate of the 
strength and possibilities of a virtuous, cultured and wise 
people, as compared to a people who are wanting in such pos- 
sessions and qualities. Men were not made to be ruled by 
force alone. On the contrary, by love and its influences. The 
domination of brute force and its continuance is founded upon 
error, except for defensive purposes, and the larger the meas- 
ure of force iound necessary to control men, the further that 
government is removed from perfection. The Western Con- 
tinent finds less reason and necessity for standing armies than 
the nations of the East, because the many create governments 
here and the few there. Here patriotism, interest in and love 
of government develops a force equal to what all the people 
may exert in supporting and maintaining their government. 
While in governments ruled by the few, and under the claims 
of a divine or superior right to that of the people, patriotism 
and love are discarded, and the power exerted is equal to the 
ability of the ruler, coupled with the means of purchasing and 
retaining in service a physical force for the repression of the 
resistance and maintenance of rule. The popularity of brute 
force is rapidly yielding to enlightened public opinion in every 
civilized country, and soon the fetters of ignorance and slav- 
ery will cease to manacle the people of the earth. The light 
of reason is growing brighter day by day. Ignorance, like a 
dark storm-cloud, is receding in the distance, while the de- 
mand of the masses was never so great for higher attain- 
ments. 

As population and wealth increase, the earth and sea be- 
come less able, unaided by the wisdom of man, to support the,- 



ADDRESS' OF' W. S. HERNDON. 



one and preserve the other. The wants of sixty millions of 
people demand a higher order of statesmanship, and present, 
more complex problems for solution, than when our soils were 
new and our population small. It requires a larger measure 
of ability to treat and deal with the complex questions arising 
out of the versatility of a highly cultivated people, than it did 
for an unlettered and simple minded population of a century 
ago. The demand of the hour is for trained thinkers, who are 
able to grapple with the problems of state presented for our con- 
sideration. We must have a higher order of statemanship — u 
men who are able to meet the demands of the age, and supply 
the necessities of an expanding population, from resources that 
will not diminish the stock already in hand. What are your 
aims and ambitions in life? What vocation or line of service 
will you select for the exercise of your faculties ? Are you 
vaulting in your ambition to become a great physician, lawyer, 
scientist, warrior, statesman, or philosopher? 

When you consider the names of such men as Bacon and 
Locke, Newton and Franklin, Pitt and Jefferson, Clay and 
Webster, or such men as Watt, Arkwright, Stevenson, Morse, 
Bell and Edison, or such names as Tillotson, Summerfield, 
Bascom and Spurgeon, or, finally, -such names as Napoleon, 
Grant and Lee — are these models of your choice? They were 
some of the greatest men of this world, who originated thoughts 
and embodied them into a force which worked out some of the 
most marvelous changes in the developement of human pro- 
gress. Are you willing to grasp the best learning of the past, 
step out upon the arena of life, open new fields of toil and 
gather therefrom the fruits of your effort, for the good of your 
kind? It is not enough that you learn all that is, you must do 
more. When you have marched up the steeps of life to the 
exact altitude reached by the greatest men of the past, you 
must not pause there, but make at least one step higher, and 
add one more gift to the sum of human knowledge. Remem- 
ber that true greatness does not consist of self-aggrandizement. 
The highest thought in true greatness is to live for others. 
From various causes, not necessary here to mention, avast 
majority of the human race never produce or originate valu- 
able thoughts, and hence, add nothing durable or valuable ta 



fc 2 APDRESS OF W. S. H#RNDON. 

human knowledge or happiness. You will find some fields 
^nuch more inviting for the pursuit of knowledge than others. 
►Some are beautiful, and may lure you to walk amidst the 
changing bowers and floating gardens, but, like the charms that 
adorn them, they are temporary in their nature and leave 
nothing durable for those who shall follow. Permit to illus- 
trate this idea. Take the profession of law. It stands among 
the foremost, if not first, in all the land, and can number with- 
in its ranks a vast majority of the legislators who have made 
the laws of this country. This profession presents almost a 
'barren field for original thought ; here the law is already made; 
it is administered by sworn officers ; on every issue of law 
there is an agreement as to what it is, or the lawyers on either 
side differ ; then precedents are invoked, and the court is of 
the opinion that stare decisis shall still rule. There is no 
room for original thought. The court, attorneys and jury 
strive to reach one truth, not create new laws, but to find out 
the exact law already made. The profession offers, perhaps, 
the finest field for discipline of our reasoning faculties, but 
iosters neither genius nor originalty. You may become mas- 
ters of the profession and reach the position of great advocates, 
but the limit of every effort is to state what is, or what has 
been, rather than w T hat may or ought to exist. Again, take 
the vocation of the clergy. This is the highest and most ex- 
alted position in life, and, withal, the most responsible and 
useful, but the very nature of the mission forbids the creation 
of new revelations to take the place of the old. The Gospel 
of Salvation, the words of life spoken to a men orally over eigh- 
teen years ago, then reduced to writing, contain the principles 
of faith then announced and to which we all cling as the truth. 
The nearer we approach the exact words and their meanings, 
as uttered by the Divine Master, the more nearly shall we be 
able to possess the very truth of our religion. The struggle 
among the teachers of the Christian religion has been ever to 
use the exact declarations of Christ while proclaiming the 
Word. We are forbidden, under the pain of spiritual life, to 
-add to, or take from, this Gospel of faith and truth. There is, 
therefore, no room for original thought here. We descend 
-rather than ascend. We go back for a finished plan, and our 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. I $ 

efforts and thoughts are bent towards rinding the Gospel in its- 
pristine purity. There are other vocations, professions, trades 
and lines of services in life, which present fields equally bar- 
ren for the creation of genius and original thought, but I leave 
them to be examined at your leisure. 

Viewed from an earthly standpoint, Christ was the greatest 
of all reformers. He uttered correct knowledge, and wisdom 
founded on exact truth ; and, possessing divine wisdom and 
power, He declared a finished philosophy. To the code of 
moral rules uttered by Christ, nothing can be added by man, 
and from them he is unable to take anything without injuring 
their force and effect, because they are perfect and finished. 

This is the only finished philosophy among men, and when 
it was uttered it startled both Jew and Gentile, for nothing 
like it had ever been heard, The works of men differ widely 
from the finished philosophy. Man has aspired in every age 
of the world to create and establish a new religion — a code of 
rules for the moral government of men. This has been, and 
must ever be, any impossibility, for the obvious reason that 
men have never fully understood their spiritual nature. 

Again, men have striven in all ages, and in almost every 
country, to declare a perfect philosphy, and a perfect civil gov- 
ernment as its natural outgrowth, but have only partially suc- 
ceeded. The race of man is progressive. It possesses the 
power of reproduction and perpetuation, ana its progress in- 
creases in force and intensity. The reason for this is because 
of the conservatism and ability of men to preserve the fruits 
of their mental efforts, and hence, the knowledge and wisdom 
accumulated and preserved from age to age becomes a great 
reserve force, for the present and future use of mankind. 
Every attempt by a people to create a government for them- 
selves finds exhibited in that government the wisest thoughts 
of that age and people. These efforts at government have 
struggled upwards for thousands of years, until we see the 
splendid fabric of free government established on the Western 
Continent, surpassing everything of the kind heretofore at- 
tempted on this earth. But these governments, so delicately^ 
poised and magnificently framed, and conducted with such ten ^ 
der regard for the liberty of the citizen, are still not finished i 



M ., ADDRESS QF W. S.- R~ERNDON. 

they are not perfect, under the conditions of our ve.ry being; 
man is not perfect, and his works cannot rise higher than him- 
self. His political economy, his philosophy and government, 
have never reached such perfection as to be able to stand the 
test .of reason and experience, for any considerable time, with- 
out amendment. You are, therefore, admonished that, al- 
though much has been done for man in the past ages, and the 
earth has been resisting his efforts to subdue it for centuries 
past, still there remains much more of this world hidden than 
has been brought to light. You may spend a lifetime under 
the fairest conditions, with well trained minds, investigating and 
searching out secrets of nature now hidden from us, and, at 
last, you may hand over to your successors in the same pur- 
suit much that is unfinished, which, when wrought out, may 
prove of priceless value to our kind. How little do we know 
of the power contained in fire, water, air, earth, stone, soils, 
metals, gas, electricity, vegetation, animals and men ! Again, 
how little do we know of time, space, life, body, soul, spirit 
and force ! And how little do we know of the composition of 
the elements and forces that appertain to the earth. The 
world is in its infancy. But little is known of the earth and 
its elements. What has been clone by man is small indeed, 
compared to his capacity and possibilities. Man has accom- 
plished more in the past two hundred years than he did in five 
thousand years before; and with the appliances and forces now 
in possession, and the ardent desire to better our condition, 
we will surpass the most hopeful predictions of a grander fu- 
ture. 

If you would ask me what field of labor I would point you, 
where the greatest good might be accomplished by the trained 
thinker, I would reply, true statesmanship . -Here the scholar, 
the philosopher and lover of his race may find requiting toil. 
Here you may delve with the .best assurance of success, for it 
possesses vast stores of wealth which may be developed for 
this and future generations. This great State must have a 
wiser and more conservative statesmanship ; men of broad 
views, who love the earth upon which they were born, and who 
feel the pulsatioA'jof State -pride throbbing, in patriotic hearts; 
men who are £r§d by laudable-.* aml^ition^ to make,, .this State 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 1 5 

the most inviting, wealth-producing and happy home of the 
thrifty millions who shall inhabit, it of any other on the Amer- 
ican continent. My purpose is to bring to your minds, as 
sharply as possible, the distinctive difference between the 
thought and the thing, and to impress the idea that the crea- 
tion of thought is genius, and the highest attainment to which 
you can aspire. To become a logical and correct thinker, is 
to become master ol a power far above the value of office or 
wealth. And if I can kindle in your bosom the ambition to 
triumph in this field, i do not doubt that you will become the 
real benefactors of men. If even one of your number shall be- 
come a great thinker, and originate one thought which shall 
become the embodiment of a force that will work out a great 
reform, in any of the departments of life, it will be worth more 
than the State can ever do for you. A single idea has often 
changed the destiny of a nation, or revolutionized the habits 
and methods of a vast population. The Trojan horse of 
Ulysses did more to overthrow the armies of Troy, in a few 
hours, than the combined armies of the Greeks had done in the 
siege of ten years. When Xapoleon conceived the idea of 
crossing the Alps with his army and attacking the Austrains 
in the rear, he accomplished more hi a few clays than might 
have been accomplished in years by a different method. When 
Golumbus conceived the idea of a Western Continent, he 
opened a new field for millions of earth, changed the relations 
of nations and men to each other, and will never cease to be 
revered as one of the master minds of the world. The most 
wonderful things have been conceived and wrought out through 
the originality of such thinkers as Galileo, Arkwright, Watt, 
Stephenson, Euclid, Huber, Newton, Jacquard, Cartwright, 
Brunell, Franklin, Fulton, Morse, Edison, and a host of others. 
They have, by their efforts, changed the face of nature, over- 
come and taken possession of many of her forces and chained 
them to the car of man's destiny. These are the men who 
have achieved the greatest blessings for mankind. They pos- 
sessed a .vigor and determination that no obstacle, however 
great, could drive from their purpose. Like Mulot, at 
Grinnell, in. France, who originated the idea ofan artesian well, 
and in 1833 began to bore down into the earth, and so contin- 



1 6 ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 

ued until 1841. In the meantime, he was scoffed at and 
buffeted as a crank and a fool, but after eight years of toil and 
at the depth of 1800 feet, a stream of water gushed out; and 
thus an artesian well became a living reality. The power of 
genius is strong, self-reliant and individual. It possesses the 
most perfect faith resting upon convictions of truth — the real 
foundation of all that it is worth pursuing in life. Mulot orig- 
inated the thought in the abstract. It was wrought out in the 
concrete, and thus put a force in motion which has enabled 
man to become the master of the desert, and to make the wild- 
erness to blossom as a rose. Thus each new creation puts in 
motion a new combination of forces , which start on their way, 
joined to the power already possessed, to work out the eleva- 
tion and happiness of man. But to illustrate further. Do you. 
see that splendid locomotive, equipped and ready for action, 
trembling and throbbing as a Jiving being, possessing almost 
a miraculous power, with a capacity for bearing burdens as yet 
almost unknown? This mighty machine, so nicely balanced 
and beautifully complicated and subservient to man's will as 
a child, once existed in the mind that originated it as perfectly 
as you see it to-day. The great bridge over the Mississippi 
River at St. Louis, the greatest piece of architecture of the 
kind in the world when built, once existed in the mind of 
James B. Eads ; he developed that monster plan amidst the 
strongest opposition, yet it is the wonder of this age and gave 
the key to unlock and make easy one of the greatest difficul- 
ties to advancing commerce. The effect has been enormous,, 
and great rivers and lakes are now spanned and commerce 
roles on her triumphal march. Eads has passed away, but his 
impress was left upon this age and it will go down the genera- 
tions as having been made by a benefactor of men. Again y 
look upon yon capitol. You have watched it as it slowly pro- 
gressed from its foundation. You have witnessed stone laid 
upon stone, column rise upon column. Finally, you will see 
the great dome in beauty and majesty complete that magnifi- 
cient structure, dedicated to liberty and free government, of 
which we are all justly proud. That building, grsnd, beauti- 
ful and complicated ad it appears, once exigtt-d in the mitid 6f 
him who first cotaceived it, and although it required yea*s 6f 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. I J 

toil to materialize the idea, still it once lived as a spiritual 
building not made with hands. So was the splendid concep- 
tion which originated and breathed life into the statue of Lib- 
erty which stands guarding the gateway from the Atlantic into 
the grandest country of earth. 

But I desire to direct your mind to a still higher plane of 
thought in the same field, where the highest possible degree of 
genius is required to originate and give force to this concep- 
tion. The conception which breathed life and vitality and em- 
bodied the principles contained in the declaration of American 
independence stands supreme, and far above all the creations 
of genius by man. It possessed not only the germ, but the 
expanding, progressive thought of civil liberty and free govern- 
ment. Nay, more, it protects, sustains and expands the most 
perfects Christian civilization, and opens the way in the race 
of life for that splendid charity which offers the opportunity 
to every citizen to secure and enjoy equal privileges and honors 
with the most favored. The effect and outgrowth of this com- 
bination of forces was the constitution of the general govern- 
ment of the United States, and of the constitutions of the sev- 
eral States of this Union. The establishment of constitutional 
government and civil liberty in these United States has pro- 
duced a marked effect upon all other civilized nations. In 
Mexico, Central America, South America, and a large part of 
Europe, the governments have been reconstructed to conform 
to ours. The influence of the principles andforces of free gov- 
ernment and civil liberty, established here, are silently but 
surely working their way into the hearts of the oldest and 
mighest governments in the world. And it is not extravagant 
to assert that there is not a people or nation on this earth that 
have not felt the influence and enjoyed the blessings produced 
by the creation and development of free government here. 
The value of such a creation of genius is beyond all estima- 
tion. All the wealth of earth compared to it would be but 
dross. If this university could produce one student in the 
next century who would originate one idea, which, developed 
and put in motion, should be equal to one hundreth part of 
the effect produced by the declaration of independance, the 
State of Texas would be more than repaid for its endownment 



1 8 ADDRESS OF VV. S. HERNCON. 

and support of this university a thousand fold. In the realm 
of thought, there is another creation of genius still higher and 
grander than the last, of which man is the beneficiary, but not 
the author. And while you may never attain to the power of 
such a creation, yet it is worthy of your contemplation. It 
has been already stated that, viewed as a citizen of earth, 
Christ was the greatest reformer that ever lived among men. 
He not only uttered a finished moral philosophy, but origin- 
ated and started on their missions problems in social and po- 
litical science, which startled and confounded the best thinkers 
of the age in which they were spoken. Fifteen hundred years 
before the birth of Christ, the doctrine was announced, " Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy." The effect 
of this idea had done much to unsettle the relations of men, 
^destroy social order, precipitated one nation against an@ther, 
and thus bred strife and continuous warefare from generation 
to generation. When the great teacher appeared upon earth, 
He doubtless perceived that the apparent normal condition of 
. man was a state of malevolence and warfare, and that nothing 
short of the embodiment of a new force, upon which all men 
could stand, would change their relation to each other and put 
them upon the new line of march to a higher destiny. He 
therefore uttered this thought : "Ye have heard that it hath 
.'been said, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine 
. enemy,' but I say unto you ' Love you enemies,' for all the 
law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, 'Thou shalt love thou 
neighbor as thyself.' " Here was a new idea, simple, power- 
ful and grand. It put in motion a new force, destined to pro- 
duce mutation and revolution among the whole race. Before 
rthis there was no link between men, there was no chord of love 
stronger than interest or power. A new relation sprang into 
life, the declaration went forth and every man began to repeat 
to himself and others, " I love my neighbor as myself, I love 
my race, I am my brotner's keeper, and I love my enemies." 
This called into being the noblest feeling and sentiment of 6ur 
nature. Man became a new creature, old enmities gave way 
before it, the hearts of men yielded to new impressions, and 
thus the grandest principle that animated man as'a social and 
intellectual being, became a living reality. Man no longer 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 19 

feared his fellow or shunned his association. The sombre pall 
of darkness had disappeared from government, and man felt 
himself a true citizen of earth, a fellow-citizen of all men with 
the aspiration to become great and good. What has this em- 
bodiment of thought done for men ? Some of the mighest gov- 
ernments have gone to pieces before it, and new institutions 
have taken their places. The very savages have been lifted 
in part from degradation, the fetters have been stricken from in- 
voluntary slavery, ignorance and superstition are rapidly sink- 
ing beneath the light of intelligence. By reason of it, civil 
liberty was not only made possible, but became a splendid 
reality. The amelioration of man instead of his degradation 
has becomjs the watchword of our race. Philanthropy has sup- 
planted greed, freedom overcome tyranny, learning more 
sought after than ignorance, halls of learning more popular 
than forts mounted with guns, offerings of love have taken the 
place of those of revenge, peace has become more valuable 
than war. The forces of these progressive ideas are marching 
along the walks of men with a resistless tread. About four 
hundred millions of our race have joined the ranks and have 
caught the inspiration, and, not unlike the trained phalanx of 
the old Greeks who moved to victory singing their pceans, are 
to-day marching to a higher destiny, singing as they go, u I am 
my brother's keeper, love thy enemies and thy neighbor as 
thyself." Men every where have felt the influence of this 
great force, and as it is unfolded and expanded its happy re- 
sults are everywhere seen and recognized. Do you see that 
majestic capitol of this great State ? It represents the majesty 
and civilization of a great people, who meet biennially to add 
one more chaplet to the crown of civil liberty. And look just 
to the top of that great dome and see the star-spangled banner 
as it unfolds itself to the breeze. That is the emblem of free- 
dom. It embodies in it a representative power which com- 
mands the respect and admiration of the rulers of the people 
of every nation on earth. Both the capitol and the flag are 
the outgrowth of that idea. You see standing on these hills 
the asylums for the afflicted of our people, planted and built 
for the good of fellows, and you see the tall spires of our 
churches of this city, dedicated to God, looking down upoa 



20 ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 

this intelligent audience. These all sprang from the 
most precious and sublime of all creations of genius. 
Those ideas, once embodied, became an indestructible force, 
put in motion by the great Author. Man became linked with 
it as an immortal being. This trinity of Christ, the inde- 
structible force and immortality, united for us, will go down 
the ages, elevating and blessing the race, until destiny itself 
shall cry out : "It is finished ;" and man be called to his long 
home. But, young gentlemen, I will close with but one more 
illustration, and that embodies the abstract and concrete in 
one, and presents a beautiful compound, so complex and mys- 
terious that it has ever been a problem demanding solution in 
every age — 

MAN HIMSELF. 

He was not the outgrowth of spontaneity or evolution. No 
trace of him is found below the tertiary period. He was 
created. " Let us make man in our image, after our own like- 
ness. In the image of God created He him ; male and female 
created He them." Genius had no part or lot in this creation. 
Here genius claims its beginning and occupies a high place in 
that grand creation. How shall we describe his beginning, 
his individuality, his vast power, his means of self-perpetua- 
tion, and his immortality ? This mysterious problem has 
never been solved. He is the admiration of himself — the 
wonder of every age. He can tell something of what he has 
been, but what he really is, or will be in the future, are prob- 
lems for his solution hereafter. In his walk along the earth, 
a highway shows his footprints. He has planted, built, and 
overthrown nations at his pleasure. By his superior mental 
and physical powers, he long since became the master and 
domimated over the animal creation. There is n@t a beast of 
the field, a fish in the sea, or a fowl in the air, that refuses 
homage to man. He alone stands upon the earth, conqueror 
of all animate beings. The elements and forces of the earth 
are readily surrendering to his matchless power and wisdom. 
He touches the wand of toil, and the earth teems with food 
and raiment for his use ; he smites the rock or bores down 
toward the center of the earth and sparkling waters gush forth 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDN 



to slake his thirst. He demands of the rivers and seas to de- 
liver up their treasures to him, and every shore swarms with 
the wonders of the finny tribe. The earth is charged with 
possessing precious treasures that can enrich and ornament 
his person, as well as gratify his esthetic sensibilities, and 
straightway shafts, drifts and tunnels are opened to profound 
depths, and earth's rarest wealth is dragged up for his use. 
Xot satisfied with walking on the earth, master of animated 
being, making its treasuaes contribute to his use, he lays his 
proud hand upon the ocean and commands it to carry him and 
his Argosies safely and rapidly over its bosom ; and his com- 
mands are obeyed. He turns upon the earth again, and scorns 
the slow marches of the past and commands the composition 
of forces, and water and steam are united ; and wood and 
metal are combined. The result is the steam engine ; and 
with it, under his control, he defies time and distance. He 
speeds across the earth almost like a comet. As he advances 
he increases in power and intensity, and the demand is to 
move still faster, and hence sails and steam are too slow ; and 
he chains lightning and electricity, which become his will- 
ling and obedient agents in his triumphant and progressive 
march. What man has done is so immense that it seems to 
overpower and bewilder the mind, yet we gather strength and 
wisdom as we move forward. We are stronger to-day than 
yesterday. This age is wiser and better than the one which 
preceded us. We combine the knowledge and wisdom of the 
past; we focalize those mighty forces in ourselves, and plunge 
forward with a force almost irresistable. The watchword of 
the age is progress ; and so it will continue to be until earth 
and all its forces are subdued, and man stands the undisputed 
Lord of All. What a mysterious and wonderful being to be 
crowned the victor of earth ! He who carries the likeness of 
God in his person, who walked and talked with angels, vis- 
itors from other climes than earth ; he who once called up the 
spirits of the departed, and received from them messages to 
the living; he who walked with and became the companion of 
the Savior of men upon earth, and who in sympathy felt the 
throbbing, pulsating heart of Jesus as it burst with grief for 
his sins ; he who has the right to claim Christ as his elder 



ADDRESS OF W. S. HERNDON. 



brother, to be the heir of God and the joint-heir of his son I 
Oh ! the possibilities of such a being as man, deeply sensible 
of the highest motive for good, guided by wisdom and God- 
like truth, representing in himself an epitome of all the forces 
of the earth, inspired with an imperishable ambition to reach 
and enjoy the perfection of true manhood. As citizens of 
earth, inhabiting its most favored climes, and living in the 
period of its grandest attainments, amidst the blaze of civili- 
ization, the outgrowth of civil liberty in the nineteenth cen- 
tury, you begin your career from a higher plane than your 
fathers. The eyes of this generation will follow you with the 
earnest hope that you will attain higher summits, make 
grander conquests, and bring to your people brighter joys than. 
were ever realized in any age of the past. 



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